Peer-review ends. Finalize review of two websites, see step 4 to guide your evaluation. Failure to provide meaningful feedback will result in 50% loss of your grade

Apr 20
(All)

Final Draft of Website is due.

Goals and Description of Project

Goals of the Assignment

To give you an opportunity to learn in depth about an organism of interest to you

To provide you with an opportunity to show your ability to synthesize information in a creative, concise, reliable and scientifically sound way

To help you explore the intersection of science, creativity and art

To help you acquire a basic understanding of website design

To highlight the importance of evaluating websites

To highlight the importance of using a variety of sources from the literature

To understand the importance of copyright and plagiarism

Description of Assignment

Use websites providing authoritative information on your species/group and supplement with primary literature as needed to find the following information about your species:

Overview: Write an overview of the basic biology of your species/group, noting such aspects as its distribution, habitat, physical characteristics, food and feeding, relationship to other organisms in the ecosystem, reproduction, development and lifespan, behavior, and communication. Write only a few sentences on each aspect. Provide in-text citations to the websites and other sources that you used.

Current research: Share the latest research done for your organism in the last 5-10 years. You may include different areas of research including physiology, ecology, evolution, and/or conservation. Include all major findings and in-text citations to the papers you reference. You should conduct a relatively thorough review of the literature in order to find this information.

If Applicable to your Species/Group

Conservation Status: Indicate the status of your species/group on (1) the United States Endangered Species Act list, (2) the United States Migratory Bird Treaty Act, (3) the IUCN list, and (4) the CITES list.

Conservation Issues: Write a narrative on the conservation issues relevant to your species/group and the threats it faces. Aim for about 2-3 paragraphs in length, although this will vary among groups/species. Provide in-text citations to the websites that you used.

Conservation Organizations: Provide links to organizations involved with the conservation of species/group. Provide a one sentence annotation for each organization.

5. Literature Cited: a complete list of all the websites (and other sources) you use on your website following the format specified below. Minimum number of sources for the overall assignment: 12

At least 6 sources need to be articles from peered-reviewed journals. Try high impact articles from high impact journals (cited many times)

Use format as described in: Citation tab

6. Images and other fun stuff: If you find images, sounds, videos, etc. that will enhance the aesthetic impact and/or the information included on your website, please include them. These, too, must be included in the list of citations!